Wrapper

ABSTRACT

A wrapper has a band element, particularly a strip-shaped and/or punch pressed band element that can be wrapped around a product to be labeled. The band element has two ends that can be fastened to one another such that a closed ring can be formed that encompasses the product. One side, particularly the underside, of at least one of the two ends is embodied as adhesive.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wrapper. More particularly this invention concerns a wrapper comprising a band element, for example a strip-shaped and/or punch pressed band element, that can be wrapped around a product to be labeled, wherein the band element has two ends that can be fastened to one another such that a closed ring can be formed that encompasses the product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wrappers of this type are known in the art, for example from the document DE 1617454U. The wrappers serve to provide the consumer with information, for example, about the product the wrapper is used to label, the manufacturer, or other promotional information. Such wrappers can also be used purely for embellishing or decorating a product. Wrappers of this type can also be used to bundle a plurality of products, for example similar products.

To apply wrappers of this type to a product, it is known to wrap the band element around a product and to fasten the two ends of the band element to one another. This is achieved, for example, using a separate strip of adhesive tape that is placed across the ends that lie overlapping one another, or the two ends are fastened to one another in a form-fitting connection, for example by means of an insert connection.

Both of these fastening methods have disadvantages. For instance, with fastening using a strip of adhesive tape, a vendor must use one hand to immobilize the wrapper that is wrapped around the product, and with other hand, must pull a strip of adhesive tape from a dispenser and fasten it to the ends of the wrapper. With insertion connections, in contrast, the two ends must be fit precisely into one another in order for the information wrapper to hold. Both fastening methods are particularly disadvantageous in cases in which multiple products are to be provided with such wrappers within a short period of time.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The problem addressed by the invention is therefore that of providing a wrapper of the type specified in the introductory portion that is easier to handle and can also be easily produced industrially.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This problem is solved by embodying one side, particularly the underside, of one of the two ends as adhesive.

By embodying one side, for example, the underside, of one of the two ends as adhesive, the fitting of insertion connections and the need for a separate strip of adhesive tape are both eliminated. Once the band element has been wrapped around a product, the end of the element having the adhesive side, particularly the underside thereof, can be easily fastened directly to a side, particularly the upper side, or alternatively the underside, of the other end of the band element.

To produce a wrapper of this type, for example, an adhesive layer or a gum layer can be applied to the stated side/underside, following the production of the band element itself that can be embodied, for example, as a printed or even an unprinted print shop product, particularly a printed product that has been cut and/or punched to a desired strip or band shape.

In a preferred embodiment, it can be provided that the adhesive side, particularly the underside, of the stated end is embodied such that this one end has at least one opening, particularly at least one punched-out hole pattern or at least one cut-out, and this at least one opening has an adhesive strip fastened over it on the other side, particularly on the upper side of the band element, the adhesive side of the adhesive strip, particularly the underside thereof, acting through the at least one opening.

This type of embodiment is particularly easy to produce, since the band element can be produced in a customary manner, for example, by printing, punching and/or cutting. Once it has been completed, an adhesive strip can then be fastened across the at least one opening. In this, the adhesive strip preferably completely covers the at least one opening, in other words, it adheres to the edge region thereof on one side, particularly the upper side of the band element. In the region of the uncovered opening, the lower adhesive side of the adhesive strip acts as an adhesive side/underside of the band element.

In this case, it is particularly advantageous for the adhesive strip to be embodied as a transparent or opaque adhesive film. With such a transparent or opaque adhesive film, the side, for example, the upper side of the adhesive end, can have an optical effect through the at least one opening of the end having the adhesive film.

This feature can be utilized, for example, to allow the at least one opening to have an optically low-contrast appearance, for example, when the upper sides of the two ends have the same colored design.

The upper side can particularly be understood as the side of a wrapper that faces the eye of a consumer. This upper side can be unprinted or can provide a consumer with any type of information, for example, by imprinting or some other application of information. The underside can be, for example, the side that faces a product around which the wrapper can be wrapped or is wrapped. This side may contain no information, for example. It can preferably be the side that coincides with the adhesive side of the adhesive strip.

In one embodiment, it can also be provided that the side, particularly the upper side, of the band element, in the region of the end that has the at least one opening and the adhesive film, has a different design, particularly a different color design or print design, from the other end to be adhered, particularly such that when the band element is closed, the surface of the other end that is then adhered, produces an optical contrast through the at least one opening and through the transparent or opaque adhesive film.

With different designs of the ends, therefore, the at least one opening is optically emphasized, and can be further used for promotional purposes, for example.

For this purpose, for example, it can be provided that the at least one opening is in the shape of a word, letter, pictogram, logo or trademark.

For example, the at least one opening can be formed in the manner of a “silhouette” that is emphasized by high contrast, particularly if, for example, the area surrounding the at least one opening is designed as white, and the other end of the information carrier has a black color on the surface, or vice versa. In this case, the outline of the opening will stand out with maximum contrast and can, for example, contribute to the information that is conveyed by the information carrier or can even represent its sole information. In this case, any different designs of the two ends with respect to color or surface design are possible.

In the simplest case, the opening can have a circular, rectangular or oval shape, for example, and can therefore particularly have a geometric basic shape.

In all embodiments, the preferably strip-shaped band element can be formed, for example, as a print shop product, for example, as paper, cardboard, foil, composite laminate, etc., particularly with thicknesses or base weights that are customary for these materials.

To design the band element in the form of a strip, and therefore to make it possible to easily wrap the band element around one or more products, the length of the element can, for example, be at least 3 times, and preferably at least 5 times greater than its width. The thickness of such a band element is usually the thickness that is customary for cardboard-like, paper-like or other sheets, and is therefore particularly thinner than 1 mm, preferably thinner than 0.5 mm, or even significantly thinner, particularly if such a band element is produced from sheets of paper.

The embodiment of the wrappers according to the invention also incorporates the particularly preferred possibility of forming a wrapper block from individual wrappers, in which block at least two wrappers, and preferably a plurality of such wrappers, are stacked one on top of the other to form a block, wherein the adhesive side disposed at the one end, particularly the underside of each individual wrapper, with the exception of the lowermost wrapper, is connected in a detachably adhesive fashion to the other side, particularly the upper side, of the same end of the wrapper beneath it.

A block of this type can be easily handled by vendor staff, and forms a supply of wrappers that will remain in shape until use, and will particularly remain hygienic in the food industry. For this purpose, it can also be generally provided to use a food-safe adhesive on the adhesive side/underside or on the adhesive strip.

In the embodiment comprising adhesive strips or adhesive films, it is particularly advantageous for the very smooth upper side of an adhesive strip of this type or of an adhesive film of this type to form the surface on which the adhesive underside of an information wrapper disposed above this is arranged. Therefore, each individual information wrapper can be pulled off of a block without damage, and then used, particularly without requiring that a separate protective film, particularly a silicone film, be used to protect the adhesive side of an adhesive strip. With a block according to the invention, additional protection of this type can be dispensed with. In this case, wrappers will not tear apart when the band element is made of thin paper, because the force exerted when tearing a wrapper from the block is exerted into a tear-proof adhesive strip, particularly a tear-proof adhesive film.

Only by pulling off a wrapper from the block does the adhesive underside become freely accessible, and therefore, dirt particles are prevented from collecting thereon until immediately before use, so that this embodiment of such a block is particularly preferable for the food industry.

With all embodiments, it can be provided that the adhesive of the adhesive strip is chosen to be only lightly adhesive, which can preferably mean that after a wrapper end has been fastened to an adhesive base, particularly to a side of the other end of the adhesive strip, it can later be detached again from the adhesive base, particularly such that in this process, the adhesive strip or the wrapper is not destroyed.

In another embodiment, it is also possible for the adhesive to be highly adhesive, which can preferably mean that, once a wrapper end has been fastened to an adhesive base, particularly to one side of the other end of the adhesive strip, it cannot later be detached from the adhesive base, or at least cannot be detached without destroying the adhesive strip or at least a part of the wrapper. In such cases, a wrapper can also be used as a security element that can identify destruction of the opening or use of a previously encompassed product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be specified in what follows. The drawings show:

FIG. 1 a plan view of the upper side of a wrapper

FIG. 2 a plan view of the lower side of the same wrapper

FIG. 3 a wrapper having an opening embodied as a trademark logo and a color contrasting end

FIG. 4 a block of a plurality of wrappers arranged one on top of the other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a wrapper according to the invention that comprises a strip-shaped band element 1 that can be embodied, for example, as a print shop product, and that carries information not specified in greater detail here, or is even entirely without information. In this example, the band element 1 can be produced from printed or unprinted paper that is cut into a strip, the length of which is significantly greater than its width.

In this embodiment, on the left-side end 1 a, an opening 2 is provided that extends through the entire material thickness of the band element, in other words is cut out or punched out, for example. In this case, the opening 2 is embodied as circular, however any other shapes are also possible. The opening 2 is covered from the upper side of the band element 1 with a transparent adhesive film 3 that fully covers the opening 2, and also covers the edge region around all sides of the opening 2. Therefore, the adhesive underside of the adhesive film 3 acts through the opening 2 onto the underside of the band element 1.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the underside of the band element 1. In this case, the adhesive film 3 is indicated by a dashed line, because the edge thereof is not visible from the underside view. As a result, on the underside of the band element 1, an adhesive point 3 a in the shape of the opening 2 results. This therefore adhesive underside of the band element 1 can be securely adhered to the other end 1 b of the band element 1, once the band element 1 has been wrapped around a product and forms a ring.

FIG. 3 shows a modification of an opening 2, embodied as a trademark symbol, symbolized in this case as the letter “M”. Naturally, the opening can have any form of the special trademark of a manufacturer or of the product. The adhesive film 3 is in turn embodied as transparent or opaque, and the end 1 a of the band element 1 has a different design—symbolized in this case as without cross-hatching—from the other end 1 b, the design of which is symbolized by cross-hatching. When the end 1 a is then fastened to the end 1 b, the design thereof acts through the opening 2 designed as a trademark logo, and produces an optically easily recognizable contrast to the surface of the end 1 a. Therefore, the opening performs two functions in this case, an adhesive function and an informational function.

Naturally, multiple openings 2 can generally also be provided, for example several letter-shaped openings that form a logo or a word, and that are all covered simultaneously by an adhesive strip or an adhesive film. Additionally, each of a plurality of openings can be covered with its own adhesive strip or its own adhesive film.

FIG. 4 shows a block 4 that is formed from a plurality of band elements 1 arranged one above the other. Although these are illustrated offset in the FIG. in the interest of greater clarity, the block 4 has band elements 1 arranged one on top of the other, without offset.

In this case, the adhesive surface 3 a on the underside of each band element 1 lies adhesively on the upper side of the adhesive 3 strip, so that each individual band element 1 or each wrapper can be pulled off from the block 4 starting from the top, without destroying the wrapper. It can be provided that, under the lowermost band element 1, a protective film having no other function is disposed, for protecting the adhesive underside 3 a of the band element.

In an embodiment according to the invention, protective films of this type can be dispensed with for the other wrappers, since with the wrappers, each adhesive surface is protected by the non-adhesive surface of the adhesive strip of the wrapper lying beneath it. 

1. A wrapper comprising a band element, particularly a strip-shaped and/or punch pressed band element that can be wrapped around a product to be labeled, wherein the band element has two ends that can be fastened to one another such that a closed ring can be formed that encompasses the product, characterized by the fact that one side, particularly the underside, of at least one of the two ends is embodied as adhesive.
 2. The wrapper defined in claim 1, wherein one of the ends has at least one opening, particularly at least one punched-out hole pattern or at least one cut-out, and this at least one opening has an adhesive strip fastened over it on the other side, particularly on the upper side, of the band element, the adhesive side/underside of the adhesive strip acting through the at least one opening.
 3. The wrapper defined in claim 2, wherein the adhesive strip is embodied as a transparent or opaque adhesive strip.
 4. The wrapper defined in claim 2, wherein the adhesive of the adhesive strip is chosen to be lightly adhesive, particularly such that the adhesive strip can be detached from an adhesive base without destroying the adhesive strip, or is chosen s to be strongly adhesive, particularly such that the adhesive strip can be detached from an adhesive base only with destruction of the adhesive strip or at least of a part of the wrapper.
 5. The wrapper defined in claim 2, wherein the upper side of the band element, in the region of the end that has the at least one opening, has a different design, particularly a different coloring design or printed design, from the other end, particularly such that when a band element has been closed to form a ring, the surface of the other end produces an optical contrast through the at least one opening.
 6. The wrapper defined in claim 1, wherein the at least one opening shows the shape of a word, letters, a logo, a pictogram, or a trademark.
 7. The wrapper defined in claim 1, wherein the band element is formed from a printed or unprinted print shop product, particularly a print shop product that is cut or punched into a desired strip shape.
 8. The wrapper defined in claim 1, wherein the length of the band element is at least 3 times, preferably at least 5 times, greater than its width.
 9. A wrapper block comprising a plurality of wrappers defined in claim 1, which wrappers are stacked one on top of the other to form a block, wherein the adhesive side, particularly the underside, arranged at the one end of each individual wrapper with the exception of the lowermost wrapper, is fastened to the other side, particularly the upper side, of the same end of the wrapper located beneath it, so as to be detachable.
 10. The wrapper block defined in claim 9, wherein the non-adhesive side of the adhesive strip of a wrapper, particularly without interconnection of a protective film, forms a protective surface for the adhesive side of an adhesive strip that acts through an opening, on the opening at one end of the wrapper located on top of the first wrapper. 